MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Child slavery in Haiti

6.2.2018 - (2018/2562(RSP))

with request for inclusion in the agenda for a debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law
pursuant to Rule 135 of the Rules of Procedure

Charles Tannock, Karol Karski, Jana Žitňanská, Pirkko Ruohonen-Lerner, Ruža Tomašić, Anna Elżbieta Fotyga, Urszula Krupa, Jadwiga Wiśniewska, Angel Dzhambazki, Notis Marias, Jan Zahradil, Branislav Škripek, Valdemar Tomaševski on behalf of the ECR Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B8-0100/2018

B8‑0100/2018

European Parliament resolution on Child slavery in Haiti

(2018/2562(RSP))

The European Parliament,

-having regard to its prior resolutions on Haiti;

-having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948;

-having regard to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, of which Haiti is a signatory;

-having regard to ILO Convention for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (Convention 182) ratified by Haiti in July 2007;

-having regard to Minimum Age Convention (Convention 138);

-having regard to the Constitution of the Republic of Haiti, especially its Article 32;

-having regard to Cotonou Agreement;

-having regard to Report of the UN Secretary-General on the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti;

-having regard to Rule 135 of its Rules of Procedure;

A.whereas Haiti continues to face political instability and significant humanitarian challenges, especially in the aftermath of 2010 earthquake and more recently the Hurricane Matthew, and it ranks as one of the poorest countries in the region;

B.whereas as a result of the difficult economic situation there exists a restavèk system in which Haitian children from impoverished homes in rural areas are sent by parents to live with other families and work for them as domestic servants, but while the reality is that many of those children are subjected to exploitation, abuse, neglect and denial of basic rights;

C.whereas average workday of restavèk children lasts 10 to 14 hours for which they frequently receive no pay;

D.whereas the restavèk children are grossly malnutritioned, very often abused and seldom receive education;

E.whereas it is estimated that there is more than 400 000 children being placed as restavèks;

F.whereas many of the children are victims of children trafficking;

G.whereas strengthening national human rights institutions as well as respect for human rights, including the rights of children, are essential to ensuring the rule of law and security in Haiti;

1.Condemns the situation where underage children are being used as domestic labour and forced to work beyond their abilities without receiving any pay, calls to end that practice;

2.Similarly, condemns the Haitian authorities for lack of protection for the most vulnerable;

3.Calls for the Haitian government to urgently adopt legislation that will put an end to the practice of restavek;

4.Calls for Haitian authorities to create more opportunities for education of children in rural areas to address the root causes of child slavery;

5.Calls upon the Haitian government to criminalize the practice of placing children in free domestic service;

6.Calls for the Haitian government to put in a place an administrative system which guarantees that all new born children are registered at birth, and that measures are taken to register those who were not registered at birth in order to prevent child trafficking;

 

7.Encourages the government to increase its efforts to help placing children back in their families, stresses the need to establish contact points for children seeking protection from such abuse;

8.Calls on the European Commission and the European External Action Service to provide necessary assistance to the authorities to help them create solutions to the problem of child slavery;

9.Similarly calls on the Member States to help Haiti implementing measures for child protection;

10.Calls on the European Union and its Member States to help the Haitian people meet the severe economic and social challenges caused by years of dictatorship and as a consequence of natural disasters;

11.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the President of Haiti and the National Assembly of Haiti, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Secretary-General of the Organisation of American States, and the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly;